i'm finally putting together my much-belated honeymoon full of schlepping. i have a basic outline of what we want to do (start in southern CA and work our way up to Seattle/BC, or vice versa), how much time we have (about 2 weeks, June 5-19 or thereabouts), and places we want to go. LA, Big Sur coast, Santa Cruz, SF, PDX, Olympic peninsula, Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria are all definites. i might squeeze in San Diego and Sacramento depending on our schedule, and possibly some other places. i'm planning to not spend that much time in OR because i will be coming back to Portland (sans husband) for my cousin's wedding in August.

now i've never done anything quite like this before (this is going to have way less flexibility than when i bought a 30-day Greyhound pass a few summers ago) and i don't know when i'm going to be able to do anything quite like it again, so i want to get as much out of this trip as i can. i have a pretty good idea about what we're going to do for the LA -> SF leg of the journey, but the rest i need some help tying together.

- is there anything interesting or must-see between Sacramento and Eugene? it seems like a large expanse with not a whole lot of things to stop for, but i'm open to suggestions.- is there any way i can do this with a rental car that won't cost an utterly outrageous amount of money?

i'll make posts in the respective local forums later - i just wanted to get a start on planning now.

_________________vegan cheese bigamy is not allowed. - LisaPunk

So today at PPK I learned how to fork up a falafel and a taco. - craiger_ny

I'm a big fan of the San Diego area although I don't think it is a vegan mecca like you'll find in LA/SF/Portland/Seattle.

As for a rental car, every time I've rented cars, they charge by the day, not by the mileage. I'd make sure if you look into rental cars, you make sure they don't charge for mileage. Also, most rental car agencies do weekly rates so 2 weeks on a rental car shouldn't be too bad cost-wise. I usually go with Avis myself but they are one of the pricier options (I get a discount). You can also search online for various discount codes which can help bring your cost down.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

One stop between Sacramento and Eugene is Ashland, OR, where the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is. It's the country's best and biggest resident theatre festival, and does both classics (Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams), and new plays (Naomi Wallace's new play premieres there this summer). It's a cute little town, fun to see a play or two, and there's even a dog-friendly, vegan-friendly bed and breakfast!

Another thing you could see, though it takes you off the path by a few hours, is Crater Lake.

The Oregon Coast is beautiful, so you might want to drive up the coast as much as possible, then cut over east to Portland. I"m not sure either Sacramento or Eugene would be worth your limited time. Also, check out car rental policies - I think there may be an issue with driving a rental car from the U.S. into Canada? But Victoria/Vancouver Island are worth a few days!

_________________Formerly Kaleicious. I still love kale, but no more than lots of other garden greens too! Orach is currently my favorite.

thanks for the recs! i think we may skip Oregon, since we have limited time and Mr Ketchup doesn't seem to care one way or the other.

i wouldn't take a rental car across international boundaries, but it seems almost prohibitively expensive to even pick up a car in LA and drop it off in Seattle - that's at least 4 times as much as it would be to pick up in LA and drop off in SF (for Enterprise's pricing scheme anyway). i'm thinking we'll cruise around California for about half of our time and then fly or take the train to Seattle.

which brings me to my next stumbling block... what's the best order to do the WA & BC places? my original idea was Olympic peninsula -> Victoria -> Vancouver -> Seattle, but that hinged on being able to drop the car off in Port Angeles, which now doesn't look feasible.

_________________vegan cheese bigamy is not allowed. - LisaPunk

So today at PPK I learned how to fork up a falafel and a taco. - craiger_ny

Actually, it looks like some rental car agencies don't have a policy about going into Canada. So I'd call to verify but if you rent in LA, drive to SF. Take train to Seattle, pick up rental car in Seattle, drive wherever, drop off back in Seattle, then you'd probably be good.

I can understand having a policy about going into Mexico though, it is a bit insane driving there beyond carjackings.

_________________You are all a disgrace to vegans. Go f*ck yourselves, especially linanil.

You could do Bolt Bus from Seattle to Vancouver and See Canada with no car. Then Bolt Bus from Vancouver to Bellingham and rent a car for the Olympic Peninsula (drive from Bellingham to Coupeville and take the ferry to Port Townsend)? Or once you're in Canada take a ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles and rent a car in Port Angeles to get back to Seattle?

By the way, I was just in Port Angeles for work and I was pleasantly surprised by all I could eat there! We went to Cafe New Day for lunch, Sabai Thai for dinner, and the Chestnut Cottage for breakfast (Chestnut Cottage wasn't great but it was okay). I would have gone to Cafe New day for Breakfast but they were closed on Tuesday.

_________________I have put my mouth, this is the best sandwich. Since. I agree Araya monkeytoes too much, especially the lunch buffet. I have no idea of ​​the city center. I mean try headstrong, but I have not made there. --spam!

A great way to get from Seattle to Victoria/Vancouver Island is to take the Victoria Clipper from downtown Seattle (it's a boat). It'll take you through the San Juans up to Victoria, where there is loads to do (Butchart, was museum, that big hotel, etc, plus lots of veg friendly eats). They also frequently run specials that include hotel accomadations. Check out their website, too, for stuff to do in Victoria. It's a pretty ride through the Puget Sound, and you don't have to worry about driving.